Multiple-container packages

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are hot-fill containers that can be packaged as a multiple-container package. The hot-fill container comprises at least three sidewalls, where at least one of the sidewalls contains a deformable vacuum panel, and at least one of the sidewalls is free of the vacuum panel. When two or more hot-fill containers are packaged together in a multi-pack, the sidewall containing the vacuum panel of one container contacts that of at least one other container so as to conceal each vacuum panel.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to plastic hot-fill containers, such as those that can be packaged as multiple containers in a single package.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many products are sold as a single package having multiple containers, also known as “multi-packs.” Commercially, multiple-container packages can save storage space due to a smaller footprint area. Such packages may be ideal for consumers who use large amounts of a certain product. Alternatively, consumer may find it desirable to buy two or more related products in one package. The multi-pack can contain individual containers of the same product, or different products, e.g., different juice or soup flavors.

Although multi-packs are known in the prior art, hot-fill containers having deformable vacuum panels may present undesirable features when packaged as a multi-pack. Because of the recessed nature of vacuum panels, container labels may not adhere as well compared to a smooth surface. Additionally, consumers may find a vacuum panel unsightly. Vacuum panels are often found in cylindrical type packages, which may not necessarily save storage space when sold as a multiple package.

Accordingly, there is a need for new types of containers that can be packaged as a multiple-pack.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The containers described herein can be useful for packaging as multiple-container packages, e.g., a “multi-pack.”

Accordingly, one embodiment provides a multi-container package comprising at least two plastic hot-fill containers. Each container comprises at least three sidewalls, where at least one of the sidewalls contains a deformable vacuum panel, and at least one of the sidewalls is free of the vacuum panel. The sidewall containing the vacuum panel of one container contacts a sidewall of at least one other container so as to conceal each vacuum panel of each container.

Another embodiment provides a plastic hot-fill container with three sidewalls. At least one of the sidewalls contains a deformable vacuum panel, and at least one of the sidewalls is free of the vacuum panel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention will be understood from the following description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a container having two substantially planar sidewalls and one curved sidewall;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a container having two substantially planar sidewalls and two different curved sidewalls;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a multi-pack containing four containers of the type shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a multi-pack containing three containers of the type shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a multi-pack containing two containers of the type shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a multi-pack containing six containers of the type shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a multi-pack containing four containers, each container having a substantially planar sidewall.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to plastic containers that can be fitted to form multi-container packages. One embodiment disclosed herein provides a container with three or more sidewalls, wherein at least one sidewall contains a deformable vacuum panel and at least one sidewall is free of the deformable vacuum panel. In one embodiment, this container is useful in packaging, such as in a multi-pack, to hide the vacuum panels from the consumer while displaying the side free of the vacuum panel. Additionally, having a side without a vacuum panel allows a manufacturer to design the side for a desired use, e.g., as a relatively smooth surface for affixing a label, or as a ribbed surface for gripping the container sidewall, etc. In some instances, the multi-pack may occupy a smaller space than a similar number of individual containers, permitting greater storage efficiency.

A “hot-fill container” is well known in the art as a plastic container that is adapted to be filled with a product (e.g., food or beverage), which has been heated to an elevated temperature to allow adequate sterilization. In one embodiment, the hot-fill container can withstand product temperatures of at least 160° F., such as a temperature ranging from 160° F. to 200° F., and often positive internal pressures of at least 2 psi, e.g. pressures ranging from 2 to 5 psi. In another embodiment, the product is filled at a temperature ranging from 176° F. to 185° F.

After being hot-filled, the container is sealed with the contents still at or near the filling temperature. The subsequent cooling of the product and the head space gases cause volume contractions that can induce a partial internal vacuum within the container. This partial vacuum in turn creates a net inward force on the container sidewall which may cause the latter to buckle or collapse.

Certain plastic containers, such as biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles have been designed to receive a hot-fill product with a minimum of thermal shrinkage and distortion. An exemplary bottle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,046 entitled “Hot Fill Container,” to Collette et al. and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The Collette et al. container is provided with a plurality of recessed vacuum panels in the middle panel section of the container; these vacuum panels move inwardly during cooling of the product to reduce the magnitude of the vacuum generated in the filled and capped container and prevent any large uncontrolled shape distortion. Longitudinal (vertical) recessed ribs may be provided in the post areas and raised wall portions of the panels to increase the longitudinal stiffness of the panel section.

The design of the vacuum panels may vary as appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art. Exemplary designs are disclosed in: 1) U.S. Design Pat. 315,869, “Container Body For Liquids Or The Like,” to Collette; 2) U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,889, “Modular Mold,” to Collette et al.; 3) U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,475, “Reinforced and Paneled Hot Fill Container,” to Krishnakumar et al.; 4) U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,289, “Panel Design For A Hot-Fillable Container,” 1993 to Krishnakumar et al.; 5) U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,834, “Squeezable Container Resistant To Denting,” to Krishnakumar et al.; 6) U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,105, “Hot-Fillable Plastic Container with End Grip,” to Krishnakumar; and 7) U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,503, “Hot-Fillable Plastic Container with Tall and Slender Panel Section,” to Krishnakumar, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Many prior art containers having vacuum panels possess a rounded, cylindrical shape. The present invention, in contrast, provides a container having three or more sidewalls, i.e., featuring at least three side faces. For example, a cylindrical sidewall presents only one face. It can be readily appreciated that the container can have more than three sidewalls, e.g., four, five, six, etc. side faces. The container can have multiple sidewalls all of substantially the same type, such as in the four-sided container of FIG. 8 where all of the sides are substantially planar. Alternatively, the container can have different side types, e.g., at least one side being curved or rounded and at least one side being substantially flat, e.g., the container of FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 is a top-plan view of one embodiment of a container in accordance with the invention. Container 10 has three sidewalls affording a general pie-shaped outline. One sidewall 12 features a curved profile while the remaining two sidewalls 14 have a substantially flat or planar profile. Container 10 further comprises curved portions 15 that join two adjacent sidewalls. One of ordinary skill in the art can readily appreciate that curved portion 15 has a different curved geometry or tighter arc than curved sidewall 12. For example, curved portion 15 has a tighter arc (or non-arc shape) compared to curved sidewall 12, and can join two sidewalls at a substantially 90°, 60° etc., or other angle as desired. Container 10 also has an upper reduced diameter neck forming a mouth (opening) 16 at its top. The neck may have exterior threads or other features for engaging a closure (e.g., a cap). FIG. 1 depicts mouth 16 at the midpoint of the container, although the position of opening 16 need not necessarily reside at the center of the top plan profile.

In one embodiment, the sidewall containing at least one vacuum panel is substantially planar. A “substantially flat or planar sidewall,” such as sidewall 14, containing a deformable vacuum panel would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art as having a generally planar face while not being completely flat since the vacuum panel offers deformations in the form of, e.g., recesses and ribs. Accordingly, in one embodiment, a substantially planar or flat sidewall is determined by a top plan view of the sidewall, such as the view of FIG. 1. For example, at least one sidewall 14 of container 10 in FIG. 1 contains a vacuum panel, but a top plan view of sidewall 14 of the vacuum panel does not reveal the deformed outline of the vacuum panel.

In FIG. 1, the container maintains a similar shape throughout much of its vertical dimension (except for the area around the neck) and thus, the top plan view of FIG. 1 also defines the outline of the sidewall. Other bottles, however, can have a top plan view that does not correspond with the sidewall outline. For example, the container in FIG. 2 may have an upper shoulder of a larger diameter or width compared to that of the sidewall, such that a top plan view would overshadow the sidewall profile of the container. In this instance, the flatness of sidewall 14 can be determined by a top plan view of the sidewall only, thereby eliminating the dominating profile of the shoulder 28.

The container can be made from any material used for forming plastic containers, such as polyesters (e.g., phthalic acid polyesters), polyolefins, polycarbonates, nitrites, and copolymers and blends thereof. Exemplary materials include polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN).

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of container 10 corresponding to FIG. 1. FIG. 2 shows one substantially flat or planar sidewall 14 and one adjacent curved sidewall 12 (the second flat sidewall 14 is not shown). The sidewalls 12 and 14 extend upward to shoulder 28 and to mouth 16. Sidewalls 12 and 14 are joined to each other by a curved portion 15. At least one vacuum panel 20 is positioned on flat sidewall 14. Optionally, vacuum panel 20 can be sandwiched by supporting ribs 22 to lend structural support while the vacuum panel 20 is drawn inwards during the cooling process.

FIG. 3 shows a top plan view of another embodiment of a container in accordance with the invention. Container 40 has an upper reduced diameter neck for forming mouth 46 at its top as well as four sidewalls: one relatively wide curved sidewall 42 between two opposing substantially planar sidewalls 44 a and 44 b, and a second relatively narrow curved sidewall 48 opposing curved sidewall 42. At least one substantially planar sidewall 44 contains a deformable vacuum panel. Although container 40 of FIG. 3 provides two different types of curved sidewalls 42 and 48, alternatively, container 40 can have two curved sidewalls with the same arc, or two different types of substantially planar sidewalls 44 a and 44 b, e.g., differing in length. Opposing sidewalls 44 a and 44 b can face each other at an angle, as depicted in FIG. 3, or can be parallel with each other. Substantially planar sidewalls 44 a and 44 b are joined to curved sidewalls 42 and 48 through curved portions 45.

Other components can be formed in the substantially planar sidewalls, or in the curved or rounded sidewalls, such as recesses or beads to provide gripping portions, structural support (e.g., adding stiffness and/or rigidity), and/or aesthetic features and designs such as handles.

In one embodiment, the hot-fill container described herein can be packaged as a multi-container package comprising at least two hot-fill containers, where each container comprises at least three sidewalls as disclosed herein, i.e., at least one sidewall contains a deformable vacuum panel, and at least one sidewall is free of the vacuum panel. It is desirable that the outside of the package displays only the sidewalls free of the vacuum panels so that the vacuum panels are not visible to the consumer. This can be achieved, in one embodiment, by contacting each sidewall containing the vacuum panel of one container with a sidewall of at least one other container so as to conceal each vacuum panel of each container in the package.

A “multi-container package” or “multi-pack” as used herein refers to a package formed by joining at least two containers together, where at least a portion of the outer wall of the multi-pack is formed from at least a portion of the individual container sidewalls. The multi-packs described herein are distinguished from other packages of multiple containers where the packaging comprises a box or bag that holds multiple containers; there, the outside of the package is not formed from the walls of the individual containers but rather the walls of the box or bag itself. The containers of the multi-packs disclosed herein can adhere to each other by any means known in the art, e.g., plastic ties, adhesives (e.g., tape, glue), wrap-around plastic liner or labels that encircle the periphery of the multi-pack (e.g., shrink wrap liners or labels), a tray, or any other means that expose the walls of the individual containers, and combinations thereof.

In one embodiment, the collective footprint of the containers (the surface area covered by all of the containers) of the multi-pack is a substantially geometric figure, e.g., a triangle, a quadrilateral (square, rectangle, diamond, trapezoid), a regular polygon (pentagon, hexagon, etc.), a circle, an ellipse, etc. The geometric shape may be interrupted at certain points but the overall footprint is generally that of a geometric figure.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show possible configurations of a multiple container package using containers of the type shown in FIG. 1. Multi-pack 50 comprises four containers 10 where the two substantially planar sidewalls 14 of one container each contact a substantially planar sidewall of two other containers 10. The resulting multi-pack 50 has a substantially circular collective footprint, where the substantially circular shape arises from the sidewalls 12 of each container, which form the periphery of the multi-pack 50. Recesses 18 may occasionally interrupt the circular footprint due to the rounded shape of container 10, yet the geometry of multi-pack 50 is clearly substantially circular. Because of this arrangement, the multi-pack only exposes sidewalls 12 and conceals sidewalls 14 from view, and thus, conceals all of the vacuum panels from view. Sidewalls 12 can have a substantially smooth surface for adhering container labels, which are viewable. Optionally, sidewalls 12 can have ribbed features for gripping the multi-pack 50. Alternatively, the container can be fitted with a handle.

Depending on the dimensions of sidewalls 12 and 14, the multi-pack can comprise three containers 10, such as multi-pack 60 of FIG. 5. The sidewalls 14 contact each other in a manner similar to FIG. 4, with the curved sidewalls 12 provided on the outside periphery of the multi-pack. Again, multi-pack 60 provides a substantially circular footprint.

The container 40 of FIG. 3 can form various multi-pack shapes by virtue of having two different curved sidewalls 42 and 48, and two substantially planar sidewalls 44 a and 44 b. FIG. 6 shows multi-pack 70 containing two such containers 40. In this two-container arrangement, each container 40 can only have one vacuum panel (e.g., residing along sidewall 44 a) since only one sidewall can be concealed by the only other container in the two-container pack. Planar sidewall 44 b, and curved portions 42 and 48 are free of a vacuum panel, and labels or other features can be placed on any of these surfaces.

Alternatively, additional containers 40 can be added to the multi-pack along sidewalls 44 a and 44 b to form multi-packs of three or more containers. FIG. 7 illustrates another example of a multi-pack 80 formed from six containers 40 of the type shown in FIG. 3. One of ordinary skill in the art would readily appreciate that the sidewall dimensions of container 40 can be adjusted to fit a desired number of containers in the multi-pack. In contrast to the two-container multi-pack 70 of FIG. 6, each container 40 of FIG. 7 can have vacuum panels in both sidewalls 44 a and 44 b, since each sidewall 44 a and 44 b contacts a like sidewall of two adjacent containers. The wider curved sidewalls 42 form the outer edge of multi-pack 80 compared to the narrower sidewalls 48. Because sidewall 48 remains on an inner portion of the multi-pack 80 that is not visible, sidewall 48 can optionally contain a deformable vacuum panel. Thus, FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment where a vacuum panel need not always reside along a planar sidewall.

The containers disclosed herein do not necessarily require a curved sidewall. FIG. 8 shows multi-pack 100 formed from four containers 90, each container 90 comprising four substantially planar sidewalls 92 a, 92 b, 94 a, and 94 b (joined by narrower arcuate portions or corners 95). Abutting sidewalls 94 a and 94 b are contacted with similar sidewalls of two other containers. One or both of sidewalls 94 a and 94 b may contain a vacuum panel, while abutting sidewalls 92 a and 92 b are free of vacuum panels and thus remain on the outside of multi-pack 100. Although FIG. 8 shows a multi-pack having a substantially square footprint, opposing sidewalls 92 a and 94 a can have differing lengths than opposing sidewalls 92 b and 94 b, thus forming a rectangular container that can form a multi-pack with a rectangular footprint. Alternatively, container 90 can be packaged with more than four containers to form square, rectangular, or linear multi-packs (any of which can be formed with square or rectangular containers 90). Sidewalls free of the vacuum panels can contact other sidewalls whether or not they contain a vacuum panel, so long as the sidewalls forming the periphery of the multi-pack are free of the vacuum panels.

The multi-packs described thus far combine containers having a substantially flat base and exposed mouth on top. It can be readily appreciated, however, that the multi-packs can be formed from other container types where the container sits on the mouth (fitted with a closure) to expose the base on top. The container shapes and resulting multi-packs described herein would equally apply to such containers.

In one embodiment, the multi-packs are identical in configuration, i.e., each container has the same dimensions. Each container can have the same or different colors, and can be capped with the same or different closures. Each container may be individually labeled or the entire multi-pack can have a single label that is applied to the exposed container sidewalls. The multi-packs can be prepared by joining the individual containers prior to or after filling the containers with the hot product.

A number of modifications and variations will readily suggest themselves to persons of ordinary skill in the art in view of the foregoing description. Directional words such as top, bottom, upper, lower, radial, circumferential, lateral, longitudinal and the like are employed by way of description and not limitation. The invention is intended to embrace all modifications and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims. 

1. A multi-container package comprising: at least two plastic hot-fill containers, each container comprising at least three sidewalls, at least one of the sidewalls containing a deformable vacuum panel, and at least one of the sidewalls being free of the vacuum panel; wherein the sidewall containing the vacuum panel of one container contacts a sidewall of at least one other container so as to conceal each vacuum panel of each container.
 2. The multi-container package of claim 1, wherein the at least one sidewall containing the vacuum panel is substantially planar.
 3. The multi-container package of claim 1, wherein a collective footprint of the at least two containers is a substantially geometric figure.
 4. The multi-container package of claim 1, wherein the at least one sidewall free of the vacuum panel has a curved surface.
 5. The multi-container package of claim 4, wherein a collective footprint of the at least two containers is substantially circular.
 6. The multi-container package of claim 1, wherein the at least one sidewall free of the vacuum panel has a substantially planar surface.
 7. The multi-container package of claim 6, wherein a collective footprint of the at least two containers is substantially square or rectangular.
 8. The multi-container package of claim 1, wherein each container is a polyethylene terephthalate beverage container.
 9. A plastic hot-fill container with three sidewalls, at least one of the sidewalls containing a deformable vacuum panel, and at least one of the sidewalls being free of the vacuum panel.
 10. The hot-fill container of claim 9, wherein the at least one sidewall containing the vacuum panel is substantially planar.
 11. The hot-fill container of claim 9, wherein the at least one sidewall free of the vacuum panel has a curved surface.
 12. The hot-fill container of claim 9, wherein the at least one sidewall free of the vacuum panel has a smooth surface.
 13. The hot-fill container of claim 9, wherein the at least one sidewall free of the vacuum panel has a ribbed surface.
 14. The hot-fill container of claim 9, wherein the container comprises at least one material chosen from polyesters, polyolefins, polycarbonates, nitrites, and copolymers and blends thereof.
 15. The hot-fill container of claim 9, wherein the container is a polyethylene terephthalate beverage container. 